


Taste of Sin

by kellybellefiction



Category: True Blood
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-06
Updated: 2015-12-06
Packaged: 2018-05-05 08:15:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 11
Words: 14,917
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5368070
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kellybellefiction/pseuds/kellybellefiction
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sookie Stackhouse is on her way to college, at a mere 17 years old, and meets a handsome, mysterious professor, who teaches her more than just World History 1101. Lemons!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

"Hey, Jason?" I yell from my bedroom door. "I need help!" I groan as I scowl down at my suitcase. The damn thing just won't close, and I've even tried the age old trick of sitting on it.

"Hey Sook, whataya need?" Jason asks with a clueless look on his face. As much as I love my brother, he is quite dim, and he doesn't always quite get what's going on. But, he's my big brother and I love him. He is 19 and just graduated from high school, and I am packing my bag to go away to college. Yes, I am 17 and packing to go to college. Fine, I'm smart. So what?

"Uh, yeah Jason, I can't get this stupid suitcase to close," I say, giving the offending object one last glare before letting Jason handle it. Thank the lord, though, he finally gets it to close.

"Sook, I know I'm not too good at this, but I'm gonna miss you," Jason says quietly. He is looking at the floor, and I know this is hard for him to do. When he finally looks up at me, he actually has tears in his eyes.

"Aw, Jason, I'm not gonna be that far. Just New Orleans. You can come visit whenever you want, and I'll come home whenever I can. You're my only brother, after all," I say reassuringly. Jason looks better at least, and the tears have dried up. "But, my bus will be here any minute, so I've got to go. I love you."

Yes, we have a bus that shuttles all of the incoming freshmen to the campus, so it keeps our families from having to drive us. AsI sit on the bus, I finally have time to think. I'm so nervous, it is unbelievable. I got to graduate from high school a whole year early, and I have a late birthday anyways, so I am most likely going to be the youngest student in all of my classes. I sigh. I can already hear the hateful words aimed at me, mocking my age and my innocence. Well, screw them. I'll turn 18 in three months.

Through my daydreaming, I notice that we have finally arrived at the campus, and it is time for me to meet my roommate, and see my dorm room. I walk in to dorm building B, room 22, and open the door, holding my breath. When I step in, I let it out. It looks normal—meaning nobody has painted the walls black, or sacrificed a kitten in the middle of the floor.

As I walk to my side of the room, I lay my suitcase and my box of random stuff down. As I sit down on the bed to let the day sink in, I hear the door open and close.

And in comes my roommate. "Hey, you must be Sookie Stackhouse, right?" she asks with a big smile. She is very pretty, with dark wavy hair, big blue eyes, and perfect skin. However, she happens to dress like a 30 year old soccer mom, with her khaki capris and hunter green t shirt. "Anyways, I'm Amelia Broadway!"

"Nice to meet you, Amelia," I say with a smile of my own. I turn back to start unpacking my bags, and so does Amelia. We do this for about an hour in comfortable silence. I just hope she and I can become friends—I can't imagine how hard it would be to not get along with your roommate.

At about six o'clock, Amelia looks at me, and asks if I would like to head down to the cafeteria for some dinner.

"That would be great," I say, finally noticing how my stomach was growling at me.

As we walk to the mess hall, Amelia and I make small talk. I learn that Amelia is the daughter of a powerful businessman, Copley Carmichael, though she doesn't like to go by his last name. I in turn tell her about my age and my insecurities about being at university so young. At that, Amelia laughs and says with a wink, "If anyone thinks they can mess with you, they'll have to go through me."


	2. Chapter 2

As Amelia and I enter the cafeteria, we immediately notice how crowded it is. There isn't an empty table in sight. With a sigh, we head to the line, and grab ourselves chicken Caesar salads and an apple. As we pay for our dinner and look around us, we see a friendly wave coming from the other side of the cafeteria. As we approach him, I notice that he has shaggy reddish blonde hair, and kind blue eyes. I smile gratefully at him while sliding in to the chair across the table.

"Hey ya'll, I'm Sam Merlotte," says the boy, while shaking my hand.

"I'm Sookie Stackhouse, and this here is my roommate Amelia Broadway," I say with a smile. Amelia does her part, and shakes his hand.

Now, I've got a secret that I haven't told a soul about, save for my brother and my Gran before she died—I am a telepath. I can read minds, but I am very good at putting up shields to block the thoughts of others, so they do not become too obtrusive. That's the only reason that I am going to be able to function in college.

The reason I bring this up, however, is I can't read Sam Merlotte's thoughts. They are blurry to me, almost as if a fog has descended upon them. I shake it off, and keep on talking to Sam and Amelia.

I find out that they too are first years here at LSU, and are both 19. Sam's father owns a bar in Shreveport called Merlotte's, but Sam wanted to go to school to make something of himself—he is going to become a veterinarian. Amelia, on the other hand, came to college to party. She wants to have a good time and meet some "hot guys" and she guesses she will probably get a degree in fashion "something" she said.

I had to laugh at these two. They are just so different from each other. I tell them that I plan on getting my master's degree to become a nurse practitioner, and how I graduated early to get a head start on college.

As Amelia and I finish our dinner and get up to leave, Sam asks if he can have a moment with me. "Uh, sure why not?" I answer grinning. He really is quite good looking, in an underscored kind of way.

"Well I was just wondering if I could, uh, well, get your number?" he asks, turning ten shades of red.

I nod my head, "Of course you can!" I say.

After giving him my number, I head off to find Amelia by the trash cans, throwing our garbage away. She grins at me and gives me one of the winks I am starting to associate with her, "So, gonna go out with him?" she asks slyly?

"I don't know...I mean he's two years older than I am. Is that even legal?" I ask, genuinely wondering what the answer is.

"Girl, I don't think it matters. You're in college now," and with that we walk back to our dorm to look over our summer semester schedules.

When we get back to the room, we put our schedules together to see what we will have together. "Hey, we've got World History and Calculus tomorrow," I say. Our professor for history is named Professor Northman and our calculus instructor is named Professor Kilpatrick. History, I am looking forward to. Calculus, not so much. At least they're both night classes. I'll get plenty of rest.

I walk into my world history class five minutes late. This is absolutely mortifying, but I couldn't find the room, and had to get a map, and then I had to ask a student to read the map for me—it's a disaster. That's all I can say.

As I open the door, ready to take my seat, I notice a pair of ice blue eyes looking in my direction. And they do not look happy to see me.

"Miss Stackhouse, how good of you to join us for class today," says the professor's slightly accented English.

"I'm so sorry. I got lost trying to find the room..." I trail off, not wanting to make excuses.

"Well, at least you are here. I was just going over the syllabus. You can grab one off my desk."

I sit through the rest of the class, highlighting important areas in my syllabus, when the clock signals it is time for us to leave.

"Miss Stackhouse, would you wait a moment," Professor Northman calls from his desk as I am about to walk out of the classroom. Well, shit. I can't believe I didn't notice before. He really is an attractive man, and he must be no more than 25 or 26. He has blonde hair that goes to about his shoulders, I would guess, but he's got it braided down his back. And he's tall. At least 6'5". Yummy.

"Yes, professor?" I ask, wanting to get straight to the point, knowing that I will most likely be scolded for coming in to class late.

"I just wanted to know how you were adjusting to college life. I read in your student profile that you are an early grad student and are quite young," he says with a look of true concern in his eyes.

"Oh, well, yes it has been kind of difficult adjusting, but my roommate has been really helpful," I say, not knowing what else to tell him. With that he nods his head, and smiles at me.

"Well, then, you'd best be on your way before your other professor has to lecture you, too," he says with a wink.

I just can't help the smile that's playing on my lips as I walk out the door.


	3. Chapter 3

Calculus seemed to have flown by, while I wasn't even paying attention. All I could think about was Professor Northman—his eyes, his hair, those strong looking hands. But I'm a foolish girl. I'd have to be crazy to think that he would actually want anything to do with me. I'm just some inexperienced 17 year old girl, with nothing to offer. How is that appealing? Yeah, it's not.

I sigh as I get out of my desk and head back to my dorm room. As I walk in, I see Amelia lying in her bed with her laptop.

"Hey, why weren't you in calculus?" I ask her, accusingly.

"Oh, I got that class changed. I'm not too good at math, so I figured I would take an elective instead. I'm just still deciding which one I want to take," she says dismissively.

"So, what did you think of our history professor?" I ask, wanting to gauge her opinion on the hunk that is Professor Northman.

"Oh, honey, he is an absolute hotty! I'd bone him for a good grade," she says with a wink.

"Amelia, you're disgusting," I say while shaking my head. With that, I walk away and head towards my side of the room, and pick up my history textbook to study; although, it doesn't seem like much studying will be going on tonight. I couldn't hear his thoughts during class, because his mind was a perfect void. Not like when Jason tries to shield his thoughts from me, but like there's just nothing there. It's peaceful, soothing even.

I eventually give up on trying to read my bookand resolve to just try to go to sleep.

The next morning, I wake up to the smell of coffee. I think I may be in love with Amelia! I pad out of my room, and see that she must have brought a coffee maker with her when she packed. As I pour myself a cup of the delicious dark life source, I see the school paper sitting on the dinette.

"Hey, Amelia, mind if I borrow this?" I ask her, picking it up.

"Sure, go for it. I wasn't gonna read it."

As I am flipping through the pages, I see that there is an activities section, which includes all of the different tutors. However, upon closer inspection,I see that Professor Northman does one-on-one tutoring sessions on Friday and Sunday evenings in one-hour blocks. I decide to bookmark that page, seeing as it may be useful later on.

I suck down my coffee in a few gulps, and start to get ready for the day, deciding to dress to impress today. I wear a white sundress adorned with little red flowers all over it, and red and white wedge heels. I wear my hair straightened down my back, and finish the look with my silver Tiffany necklace I got from Jason as a birthday present.

I walk out of my room, and immediately hear Amelia wolf whistling from the couch. I do a little twirl and laugh.

"Damn, Sookie, you look good," she says appreciatively.

As we walk out of the room, I find that I'm anxious to get to history, to see Professor Northman. Alas, I will have to wait, seeing as we only have evening classes during the summer term. Amelia and I walk down the hall, and to the social area, where there are many students socializing and watching TV.

"Sookie, Amelia!" I hear from across the room. I turn around, and find the source—Sam Merlotte is waving us over.

"Hey, Sam," I say smiling. He really is quite good looking.

"So, girls, what do you say we go see what New Orleans has to offer until classes start tonight?" he asks with a grin.

Amelia and I look back and forth between each other, and finally nod, "Sure," we say in unison.

The three of us head off the campus and towards the city, where we walk around and enjoy the attractions. Even when it's not Mardi gras season, it is still a lively place. I especially enjoy the street vendors, and there is even a guy sitting on a corner of the street doing spray paint art, which is unbelievable. I end up buying myself one, which has a fairy sitting in a meadow, under a pink moon. Girly, yes, but it spoke to me for some reason. After that, we stop at a local Cajun deli and order lunch (gumbo for me) and just talk. By the time we are done, it is time to head back to the campus to get ready for classes.

Amelia and I walk back upstairs to our dorm to collect our bags, and Amelia gives me a knowing look.

"You like him, don't you?" she asks.

"I guess. I mean, he's a sweet guy, and I think he'll be a great friend, but I don't know if I see him as dating material," I say. It makes me sad to say that, but you can't force yourself to think about someone in a certain way.

"Whatever you say," Amelia sings as we walk back out and head to history.

I am proud to say that today, I showed up on time, with Amelia in tow. Today, since I am on time, I choose a seat in the front row, earning me a disgruntled look from my friend.

As I prepare my things for class to start, I feel a pair of eyes on me. I slowly look up, and see two sapphire blue eyes looking at me, observing me. I feel myself starting to blush, wondering why he's looking at me. Almost as if he didn't realize that I had seen him, Professor Northman shakes his head slightly, and smiles at me before going back to whatever he was doing on his computer, although he looks extremely frustrated.

Oh well.

EPOV

I smell her before she even walks in the door—extraordinarily sweet, probably what a human would compare to a chocolate cake, a sort of guilty pleasure. When she finally walks in, I have to keep my composure. She is dressed in a white dress with little red flowers, and her heels are making her legs look a mile long. The dress is also accentuating her bust, much to my pleasure.

She walks in with a friend; I think her name is Amelia, if memory serves. They walk to the front of the room, and Sookie picks a seat right in front of my desk, almost as if she knows that she is tempting me. As she starts to pull her things out of her bag, I notice her neck is strained, and I can see the carotid artery pounding, calling to me. I don't realize that I am staring until she looks up at me, with a slight blush on her face. That blush, though, does something to me below the belt that a professor should just not be feeling for a student. In that instance, I can see her bent over my desk in those heels, screaming my name...I shake my head at that thought, and give her a slight smile to reassure her.

I don't know what it is about this girl. I seem drawn to her. I actually found myself having thoughts about how I could get her alone, or seduce her. As long as I have been teaching here, I haven't ever had thoughts about a student this strong. The last time I felt this powerfully about someone was when I made Pam, and that was over a century ago.

I notice the clock saying 7 o'clock, and know it is time for class to start. I stand up and begin my lecture.

"We will begin this class with a look at the Vikings, since they are one of the earliest civilizations there is much documentation about..." I continue with my lesson, but notice that my eyes keep getting drawn back to the very alluring Sookie Stackhouse. The hour and forty five minutes seems to fly by, and before I know it, I am dismissing the students for the evening. I sit back down at my desk, and watch Sookie as she walks out of the room, frustrated that I don't have a reason to make her stay behind. I want to feel her soft lips on mine, feel her beautiful, toned legs wrapped around my waist...dammit, Northman, get it together. You can't have her. End of story.


	4. Chapter 4

SPOV

The week seemed to fly by. And, as much as I loved to look at Professor Northman, class was getting tedious. Now don't get me wrong, I love history, but I am just ready to relax. I wake up on Saturday morning to Amelia making coffee again.

"Oh Amelia, have I told you I love you, recently?" I ask as I stumble out of my room. She looks up and smiles at me.

"Only every time I make coffee," she says as she winks at me. "What do you want to do today? You know, as celebration, for surviving your first week of college."

"We could...just hang around? I don't really feel like doing anything today," I say apologetically.

I head to my closet and pull out my favorite yoga pants and an old t-shirt. It seems that the excitement of looking nice is over, I think to myself. As I head down to the common area to lounge around, I see a tall handsome man come bounding down the hall, almost knocking me over.

"Ah, shit, sorry Miss," he said. He reaches down to help me with my bags, and finally meets my eyes. "I'm Alcide. Alcide Herveaux," he says with a friendly smile.

"Sookie Stackhouse," I tell him with a smile of my own. "Thanks for helping me with my stuff," I say motioning to my bag.

"Oh, it's no problem. Here, I'll walk with ya wherever you're going," he says looping his arm through mine. I can't help but notice the thick muscles that I can feel through his shirt. And he's tall. Probably well over six feet. However, he's really rugged looking, but I could get used to that. When we get to the lounge, we walk over to one of the couches and sit down next to each other.

"Why in God's name would you be runnin' like that through the hall," I ask him, actually wanting to know.

"Well, I don't really know. Just felt like bein' wild I guess," he says with a smirk. I can't tell if he's mocking me.

"Are you mocking me, Alcide?" I ask him, starting to get mad at the handsome asshole.

"No, of course not. I just feel really bad about knocking into you, that's all. Could I make it up to you over dinner some time?" he says, and I can't help but see the hopeful expression in his eyes.

"Well, why not? I say. What's the worst that could happen? You barrel over me?" I joke, and start laughing.

When the day is done and the sun is starting to go down, Alcide starts walking me back to my dorm room. "So does tonight work for dinner?"

"Yeah, sure that sounds good. Just let me get ready, and what not," I tell him. I guess I can't go like this.

As we get to the path that leads back to the dorm rooms, I pass Professor Northman, and try to give him a smile in acknowledgment, but he just looks at me, with the coldest expression I can imagine. If looks could kill, I'd be dead.

"Hey, Alcide, that was my professor, I need to go talk to him. I can walk myself back to my room, okay?"

He looks at me funny, but finally agrees, and says he will call me later, so I can meet him in front of my dorm building.

I watch him walk away, and then run over to Professor Northman, to see why he is so angry. We had our first quiz yesterday, so maybe I did a bad job? I don't know, but I need to find out.

"Professor!" I yell, when I get close to him. He turns around to look at me, still with that cold look in his eyes. "I was just wondering, were my quiz scores not good? You seemed angry when you were walking by, and I was just..." I trail off, noticing that I am starting to ask a personal question, which isn't what I wanted to seem like I was doing.

"Miss Stackhouse, if there is something you would wish to speak about with your grades, you can see me during my office hours," he spits out, turning to walk again.

Now, I'm pissed. "Whoa there buddy. I don't think so. I may be your student, but I am still a lady, and you will speak to me as such. And I don't appreciate the attitude that you are giving me for no good reason."

"Was that your boyfriend back there?" he asks suddenly, nodding his head back to where I was just standing.

"What? No! I mean, I said I would go out with him tonight, but we're not dating," I say, wondering where this was coming from, and why it even mattered to him. "Why? What does it matter to you, anyways?"

"I am just curious. I apologize for my rude behavior earlier," he says bowing slightly, and starting to walk away.

"Wait!" I yell again, "can I still find out about that quiz grade?"

"You scored 100%, Sookie," he looks me up and down while licking his lips, "as expected. Now, walk with me."

I start walking next to him in silence and we approach the common room again. When we are at the door, he puts his hand on the small of my back, and lets me go before him. When he touches me, I can feel the electricity go between us. We find a sort of private place to sit down, and start talking.

"Sookie, I was wondering if you would be interested in one of my private tutoring sessions that I hold. You already have spectacular grades in my class, but I am well versed in many other subjects, and would be able to help you in anything else you are having trouble with."

"Well, I was thinking about taking one of the slots, just so I can stay ahead. You wouldn't mind, even though I'm already passing?" I ask him, wanting to make sure.

"That is perfectly fine. I like to keep passing students passing."

"Then sign me up," I say with a smile. "Oh, and I'm really sorry about my behavior today. I shouldn't have spoken to you in such a manner, since you are my professor, after all."

"There is no harm done, Sookie. I should not have treated you the way I did either," he tells me, "now, go on and get ready for this 'date' that you have. But please, take my cell number so you can get in touch with me if you need me for any reason."

I head back to my dorm room and quickly put on a sundress of mine and some makeup, and straighten my hair. That's as good as it's gonna get, seeing as Alcide should be calling me any minute. Just as I am finishing up my lip gloss, my phone rings, and I see it is Alcide, telling me he is down stairs. I tell him to hang on, I grab my purse, and I head to the elevator.

When I finally make it to him, I see that he is handsomely dressed, in dark jeans, a light blue shirt, and a navy blazer. His shoulder length scruffy hair has been tamed, and he even managed to trim his beard.

"Wow, Alcide, don't you look nice!" I say, admiring him.

"And you as well, Sookie," he says with a grin. He walks me over to his car, where he opens the door for me, and gets me settled in. "I was thinking we could go to a nice Italian place I know of, called Rigatoni," he tells me.

"That sounds good, I love Italian!" I say, with a grin of my own.

We drive for a little while in comfortable silence, and when we finally arrive at our destination, I see it is a quaint little Italian place, with a colorful exterior. As we walk in, I see that it is just as comfortable inside as it is outside, with a lounge area for cigar smokers and private booths for everybody else. The hostess takes us to a corner booth, where we sit down and begin to look over the menu.

"So, what do you recommend? I ask Alcide, seeing as he's the one who's been here before.

"Hm, I usually get the chicken Marsala. It's delicious," he tells me.

When the waiter comes back, I decide to go with the Marsala, and just a glass of water. "So, Alcide, how long have you been at LSU?"

"I'm a sophomore this year, and I'm studying business management," he tells me.

"Ah, so that makes you...?

"I'm 19. And I'm studying so that I can one day take over my father company."

"Oh well that's neat. I'm studying to become a nurse practitioner. I'm 17, about to turn 18, and have always wanted to be a nurse, ever since I can remember..." I trail off, "oh, shit, the age thing doesn't freak you out, does it? I was worried about that when I came to college."

"Sookie, don't you worry your pretty head about it, age is just a number. And I can tell that you are mature for your age. So it's no big deal," he says with a reassuring smile. After I hear that, the rest of the evening just flows on by. I actually have a lot of fun with Alcide, and just like with Sam, I can't hear his thoughts, which is a bonus. After we are done eating, and he pays the bill, we walk back to his car. We drive home and keep talking about our lives, and by the time we end up back in front of my building, I can't help but smile to myself.

"Alcide, I had so much fun tonight," I tell him.

"Me too. I was wondering if you would like to be my girlfriend," he asks, with that hopeful look in his eyes again.

"Yes, of course I will," I tell him, and soon his lips are on my mine.

"Goodnight Sookie."

As I head towards the entrance to my building, I see Professor Northman walking down the sidewalk again. I wave at him, and he walks over to me.

"So, Miss Stackhouse, I can assume that your date went well?" he asks with a sly look. I can't tell what his game is.

"You could say that," I tell him, "there should hopefully be more dates in the future."

As we get to the entrance of my building, he rides with me up the elevator and walks me to my room. When we end up in front of my door, he leans down and whispers right into my ear—sending shivers down to my lower regions—"Tell lover boy that if he hurts you, I will kill him."

With that, he stands back up straight, and smiles down at me, "Goodnight, Miss Stackhouse," . And with that, he's gone down the hallway.


	5. Chapter 5

After Professor Northman gave me that little message to pass on, I couldn't help but feel conflicted. When he leaned down to whisper in my ear, I felt things I just shouldn't feel for him. But, I am with Alcide now, and if anything, I am a faithful girl—or at least I can hope. I haven't been in too many relationships, but I know what my morals are.

As I fling myself onto my bed, I can't help the thoughts that are assailing me. Is Professor Northman jealous of Alcide? That can't be. It doesn't make sense. What reasons would he have to be jealous? I lay there on my bed, and slowly drift off to sleep, where I must say, I had some pretty x-rated dreams of not only Alcide, but of my dear Professor Northman.

The next morning I wake up, and face the barrage of questions from Amelia about my evening with Alcide. I answer them all, but then get to the part about Professor Northman. "Amelia, I just don't know what to do. I should be creeped out, but I'm not. That's the fucked up thing about this."

"Sookie Stackhouse, you are given the opportunity that most women would die for. You take it, that's what I say," Amelia says with a wink. I should have known that she wouldn't give me any useful advice.

"Yeah, thanks Amelia," I grumble before stalking back to my room to get dressed. I pick out dark jeans and a black t-shirt, leave my hair wavy for the day, and don't wear much makeup. As I am walking back to our little living area, my phone starts to ring.

"Hello?" I ask, without even looking at the number.

"Hey Sookie, its Alcide. Wanna hang out today?" he asks. I smile to myself. That sounds like so much fun.

"You know what? That sounds perfect. I'm heading down now."

I grab my purse, and start walking down the hallway, humming happily to myself. I can't believe that after a week of college, I have a boyfriend. I smile giddily to myself and continue on to the elevator.

When I reach the bottom floor and step out of the elevator, I am greeted by the smiling face of my new boyfriend.

"Hey babe," he says when he sees me, "I thought we could just hang out together for the day"

"Yeah, that sounds like fun. What do you want to do?" I ask him, as we start just aimlessly walking toward the front of the building.

"I don't know. I figured you may want to explore the campus for a little while. Get to know your surroundings. We've got a really nice garden too, with a path and stuff," he tells me, looking down at me nervously.

"That actually sounds perfect. I love gardens. Back home, I have a beautiful one that has been around since my house was built years ago, and I still take care of it—well, used to take care of it," I sigh. As much as I like college life, I am starting to feel a little homesick, and realize that I haven't talked to Jason in over a week. I sigh again. I should probably call him when I get home.

As we make our way to the garden, we talk about our families, and I learn that Alcide's father owns a contracting company which is the company he is planning on taking over one day. In turn, I tell him about my brother Jason, and how close we are. I tell him about going through high school fast, and graduating early, and about how I didn't have many friends growing up. I don't tell him about my little mind-reading quirk, because simply, it's too soon. As we walk around the campus, with Alcide telling me different little pieces of information, I can't help but to feel happy.

When we make our way to the garden, it is around 4 o'clock in the afternoon. Alcide finds us a bench by the pond, and we sit down together. As we sit, just staring at the pond, I realize I need to get back to my dorm, so I can call Professor Northman about our tutoring session and I still need to call Jason.

"Alcide, I'm really sorry, but I need to get back to my dorm. I have a few calls to make, and I have to call my professor for a tutoring session this weekend," I say apologetically. I feel really bad about cutting our day short, but there are things I need to get done.

"Okay, Sookie, if you say so," He helps me off the bench and we make our way back across the campus. By the time we make it back to my dorm, it is just beginning to get dark.

I hastily make my way to the elevator, and begin calling Professor Northman as soon as I walk into the building.

"Northman speaking," I hear after two rings.

"Uh, hi professor, this is Sookie Stackhouse, I was wondering if I could take one of your blocks for tonight?" I ask him, hoping he remembers that he offered we could do them on short notice.

"Ah, Sookie, of course. Does five thirty work for you?"  
I look at the clock and see that it is five now. "Yeah sure, where do we meet?"

"Meet me in the private room in the library," he says after a pause.

"Okay, thanks," I say, and then hang up. I sit on my bed for a second longer, and think about the day. I can't help but feel...wrong—or is it right—about something.

I make my way to the library, and have to go all the way to the back of the building to find the private room that Professor Northman was talking about. I walk in and set down my bag, and pull out my phone to surf the internet while I wait for him to arrive.

At five twenty, the professor walks in, and sets his stuff down as well.

"Miss Stackhouse," he said with a big smile on his face, "not with the boyfriend tonight, I see." I can't help but notice how he is smirking slightly while saying that.

"Well, I need to study and keep my grades up," I say tightly, while trying to avoid his gaze. When I look back up, I know I am blushing.

When I reach across the table to grab my pen, Professor Northman grabs my hand and looks into my eyes, "you should call me Eric, you know. Professor Northman is too formal." And with that, he places a small kiss on the palm of my hand, which sends a feeling of pleasure all the way to my center.

I shiver slightly and look back at my notebook.

"So, Sookie, having a good time at college?"

"Yes, I'm enjoying it," I say, trying to keep my voice steady—which, by the way is a real challenge when you have the most handsome man you've ever seen staring holes into you.

"Well, that is good, isn't it?"

"Prof—Eric, I mean. Where is your accent from? Of course, if you don't mind me asking you." I ask nervously, trying to change the subject or to just get him to stop looking at me.

"I don't mind at all. I want us to get to know each other. It is from Sweden, though I have lived in America for a very long time." he smiles at me and doesn't make any move to start studying. "Sookie, I believe that tonight, maybe we should spend our time getting to know each other."

"Oh, well I guess that is fine," We end up sitting next to each other on a couch in the room. As we talk, I find that I am really comfortable talking to Eric—actually, I'm just comfortable around Eric in general.

Before I know what is even happening, I find myself scooting closer to him on the couch, breathing in his smell, and admiring his features. Fine. I'll admit it. I am shamefully attracted to him. But I am with Alcide, and I can't cheat on him—or can I? No, I'm not that kind of woman, but damn I wish I was.

I find that while I was thinking, I put my hand on his leg, and his hand was on top of mine.

"Eric, I'm so sorry," I start, but Eric cuts me off before I can go any further.

"Sookie, don't you worry," he tells me, "are you attracted to me?"

"Excuse me?!" I ask him shocked. How dare he ask me that? "Um, well, I, uh," I start to ramble.

Eric puts one long finger on my lips, effectively silencing me."Sookie, I am attracted to you," he says, "but I will not mention anything to you of this again until you ask me to. And trust me, lover, you will ask me to. You will yield to me, one day. And you will enjoy it."

I blush and look down at the table, "Eric, I'm not that kind of girl. I don't have sex with professors, and I definitely do not cheat on the person that I am with."

"Then don't look at me as your professor. Look at me as your friend. And don't you worry about that wolf of yours. I'll convince you that your better option is here," he says while waggling his eye brows. "Now, you should go before I do something I regret."


	6. Chapter 6

As I walk back to my room, I can't help but think about what just happened. Who wouldn't be thinking about what just happened?! He seemed so confident that I would yield to him. Yield. That's such an old, outdated word. But, god, it did send a shiver straight down to my center.

I walk into my bedroom, and notice that I have got a ridiculous goofy smile plastered to my face—otherwise known as the "crazy Sookie" smile.

I throw my stuff on my bed, and completely bypass Amelia, not feeling like rehashing what just happened at the library. I pull my cell phone out of my pocket, and realize that I have two missed calls, and three text messages from Alcide. I stare at my phone, and can't think of what I should do about it. I could call him back, and just tell him that I had been studying in the library—which I was, so it wouldn't be a lie—or I could avoid the situation. I sigh as I pick up my phone and dial him back. The phone only rings twice before he answers it.

"Sookie, I was scared to death. Where the hell have you been all night?"

"Alcide, relax, I told you I would be studying, remember? That's where I've been. I just lost track of time," I say, rolling my eyes slightly. It's like he didn't even listen when I told him where I would be.

"Oh, well I just wanted to make sure," he said, already sounding like he was distracted by something else.

"Yeah, um, Alcide, want to meet me in the park across from my dorm? I want to see you real quick," I ask, wondering why I didn't realize he was so annoying before now. But looking back over the past couple days, I notice that he just never paid attention to me, and I rushed into a relationship with him.

I walk down stairs instead of taking the elevator, so I have time to think. I don't want to come off sounding like a major bitch, but I don't want this. I jumped into it, and he just needs to realize that. As I reach the park, I see him sitting on a bench waiting for me, playing on his phone—typical.

"Hey," I say as I walk up to him, and sit a safe distance away. "We need to talk about something, something that has been bothering me."  
"Spill, babe," he says.

I cringe inwardly, "Alcide, I have been realizing that I rushed into this thing with you. I jumped into a relationship, wanting the college experience and all, but I want some freedom, and I am now realizing that. I'm sorry, I don't want to hurt you, but I don't want to drag you along for too long, and this be harder than it needs to be."

As I finish my spiel, he just stares at me. And just keeps staring at me. He takes a big breath, and then he stiffens, sliding closer to me on the bench, and then takes a big breath again. His eyes widen to saucers, and he gets up and walks away without turning back. I try to listen in on him, but his mind is fuzzy, like always—all I can get from his head is bright reds and blacks, which I'm assuming means anger.

I sigh and get up to walk back to my dorm, feeling freer, but also like I just set something in motion, that cannot be stopped. I just wish I knew what that was.

The weekend remains pretty uneventful, and I am able to catch up on some much needed sleep. Before going to college, sleep was my most prized part of the day. Amelia has coffee ready on Monday morning as usual, and gives it to me smiling. I thank her, and go about my morning routine, picking out a pair of white capris and an aqua blue halter top. I curl my hair and it lays softly on my shoulders, different than my usual straight style.

Amelia and I bum the day away, she goes in her room at about 4:00. A little while after that, I walk in to see if she wants to get some dinner before class, and am shocked by what I see. She is sitting in the middle of the floor chanting with her eyes closed.

"WHAT THE FUCK, AMELIA!" I yell as soon as I see her.

"Oh, shit, Sookie. Shit," she says with a sheepish look on her face. "You weren't supposed to see this. I was gonna tell you, promise, but it just never came up..." she trails off as she gets off the floor, bringing her book with her.

"What the fuck was that, Amelia? I need to know now. Be honest."

"Uh, well, you see," she takes a huge breath, "I'm a witch." She looks at me expectantly, obviously waiting for a response.

I don't know what to say, except start laughing. She really thinks she's a witch and that she can do magic.

"What are you laughing at?" she demands, giving me the stink eye.

"You mean, you're like a witch, in Harry Potter? I'm roomies with Hermione," I say, still laughing hysterically. I turn around to walk out of the room, and all of sudden, I am stuck in place.

"This is called Still. Very basic. But I just want to show you that I'm serious." She releases me, and walks out of the room with me. We walk down the stairs, so we have more time to talk, and she tells me about her studies, and her mentor, and the challenges that she had to overcome to become as powerful as she is. She was not born with what is called the "essential spark", and therefore, was not born with magical abilities. She tells me, however, that she sees the spark in me, and that I was born with some sort of magical ability that I've yet to uncover.

"So, you're tellin' me, that I am a witch, and need to harness my magical witchy powers?" I ask her skeptically.

"No, I just sense the spark. I don't know what you are. It's not the same as my mentor's, but it's there. I am going to meet her this coming weekend, you should come too."

I tell her that I will think about it as we get to our history class and sit down. Upon seeing Eric, I can't help but blush at the memory of what he said to me. He sees me blush, and smirks at me, a smirk that makes me shiver all the way to my bones, wondering how many women he has seduced with that smirk.

EPOV

She shows up to class with her witch, and I hear them from all the way down the hallway. Amelia is telling her about the spark, and Sookie's possession of it. My smile instantly disappears, as I notice that she is correct—that spark is what I keep sensing about Sookie.

When she walks into class, she looks at me and blushes, making me smirk at her, hoping I have some sort of affect on her.

I think back to the weekend, when Herveaux cornered me in the library, as I was packing up my things.

"Northman," he had said, "Why does Sookie reek of you?"

"Because she was with me, Were. You would do best to watch your tone with me, I am the King of this state, and you still owe me the respect that I am due. Remember your place."

And then the fucker had the nerve to growl at me. I pinned him against the wall, and stared him down.

"Eric Northman, Your Majesty," he sneered, "Sookie is just a girl. Don't play her. She is a nice girl, and she doesn't need you to fuck up her life, with your incessant womanizing ways."

I dropped him to the floor, took a step back and wondered about what he said. Sookie, in her society was still a girl, although very soon a woman. I, however, played by a very different set of rules than her society, and did not see the issue in wanting her.

I shake myself back to reality, and look at her sitting in the front row, before my desk, and think to myself. If she will have me, then I should do no wrong. There is nothing wrong with two individuals wanting each other, and I relish in the thought of being her first. Although, at the same time, I wonder why I have such feelings for her. I am vampire, I should not care about the thoughts or feelings of some human woman—no a girl—for I am a hunter. Yet, I cannot help the feelings. This girl will be the death of me, and I would most gladly die a puddle at her feet, if it meant making her happy."


	7. Chapter 7

SPOV

When the weekend finally arrives, I get dressed quickly and throw my hair into a French braid, and get ready to meet Octavia, Amelia's mentor. When I walk out of my room, I ask Amelia if I am dressed okay.

"Sookie, honey, you always look fantastic. Stop doubting yourself," she says with a chuckle, while waving her hand, as if to dismiss me.

I walk into the kitchen to poor myself a cup of coffee, muttering about empty compliments just to make me feel better. When we finally walk out the door to head to the little cafe where we are meeting Octavia, I start to feel nervous. I can't explain why I am so nervous, but I definitely am. I freeze up when we reach the elevator, and I just can't seem to get my legs to move.

"Sook, are you okay?" Amelia asks, concerned. I listen to her thoughts to try to gauge whether or not she did this to me or not, and feel like a total bitch when I do.

I sure hope Sookie is okay she looks worried, why isn't she moving, maybe not a good idea to take her to see Octavia after all, just wait a little while, she can stay in bed for the day, start feeling better best friend, don't want her to get too sick.

"Amelia, I don't think I can do this today. I can't seem to make myself get on that elevator. I'm too nervous. I'll meet her another day, okay? Just go on without me."

Amelia looks at me warily and nods her head slowly. "Okay, if you say you'll be alright..." she trails off.

"I'll be fine, Meels," I tell her with a reassuring smile. I turn around and start walking back to the room, wondering what it was that I just felt, and why I got a gut feeling that I should stay in the dorm today. It wasn't a bad feeling, per se, just a feeling.

I reach the room and decide to poor myself another cup of coffee and study the next chapter for my history class. As I am reading about the ancient Greeks, and much of their culture, my mind starts to wander. I really want to go to that new club that just opened near the University, but there's no way I would be able to get in at only 17, even if I was turning 18 in a month. I sigh and close my book, and decide to find the fake ID Amelia insisted that I should have when I first came to the university.

When I dig it out of my bed side table, I look at it, and can't help but feel excited at the prospect of breaking the rules. Professor Northman has been pretty tame the last couple weeks, and there hasn't been much excitement in my life.

After I find the ID, I go to Amelia's closet and start digging through her vast amount of party dresses, hoping to find something that doesn't scream "slut". That's when I see it. It may be pushing the edge of classy, but I didn't care—it was gorgeous. It was red, with a black strip going across the chest and a gold zipper going up the side. I laid it aside and found a pair of black patent leather pumps to go with it.

After picking out my outfit, I decided to pamper myself before going out, and took a long hot shower. When I got out, I gave myself a mini facial and did my finger and toe nails. By the time I was done with that it was already 1:30 and I made myself a small lunch. When I finished lunch, I got to work on my hair, and curled it into long, loose waves that cascaded down my back—much different than my usual plain, straight style.

Around the time I got done with my hair, Amelia got home and shrieked. "Sookie! Ohmygod! You look fuckin' hot." She looked me up and down, which made me kind of uncomfortable.

"Um, thanks, Amelia. But if you're done screwing me with your eyes, I would really appreciate you helping with my makeup. And I hope you don't mind, but that's the dress I'm going to wear," I said, motioning to the bed. "I raided your closet."

Amelia chuckled and gave me a pointed look. "I don't care at all. But if you don't mind me asking, where are you going tonight?"

"I'm going to that new club called Fantasia that just opened, and I was hoping that you would come with me."

Amelia looked at me in the mirror, and I saw the mischievous glint in her eyes. "You don't have to ask me twice," and with that, she began my makeup.

EPOV

Tonight is the one week anniversary of my new bar, Fantasia being open. I know, big whoop. A whole week. But the college students around here are eating it up. Of course, there are many vampires that hang around the bar, and there are strict policies about feeding on humans and making sure to remain—how is it said now—on the "down low", until the Great Revelation takes place.

To be honest, that's part of the reason I opened this place up to begin with. After the revelation, people will be dying to get in here to live on the edge, at least for a while. For the time being, however, people think it is just a club, where they can come and dance, and leave never knowing that they were stalked for a short time by a number of hungry vampires.

I am sitting at my desk in my office when I hear a knock on my door. "Enter," I say, knowing that it is Pam.

"Master, we have opened for the night," she says, looking at me disdainfully. I know she does not like the apparel that she must wear to enthrall the guests, being so different than her pastel pant suits; however, she must attempt to look young.

"Yes, Pam, thank you. Go man the door. Do not let in any person underage. I will not be shut down before the place has even stood for a month," I tell her with warning in my tone. She knows that it will not be good for anyone if an underage person gets into the bar, and worse, if they are sold alcohol.

As I sit a while, looking through the books for the first week, I am glad to see we are definitely profitable. However, I am stirred from my thoughts when Pam drags in a young woman, who is vehemently defending her age.

"I told you, I am 18 years old, and my birthday was on July 22, 1995," she says, and I know that voice instantly.

"Sookie Stackhouse, what a surprise to see you here tonight, seeing as you aren't old enough to get into this establishment," I tell her, half joking, to see if I can gauge a reaction. Although, I then notice what she is wearing. I look at her, and see that she is wearing the most delicious looking red dress, and she most definitely doesn't look like the doe-eyed school girl I had come to know in my class. "Pam, leave us."

When Pam shuts the door, Sookie's eyes get huge, as she looks at me. "Professor, I had no idea that you owned this place..." she trails off, obviously uncomfortable. "I'm sorry. I should just leave. I was just wanting to let off some steam, and have some fun, and there's nowhere in this fucking city that I can go, without being 18."

I regard her for a second, trying to figure out what my next move should be. "Sookie, you have been a very bad girl, sneaking into my club, using a fake ID," I smirk as I see the effect my words have on her. "I should report you to the university, and see what they would like to do about your transgression."

At that, I know I got her attention. She immediately starts to backtrack, and begs me not to tell. "Professor please, don't tell the dean. I'll do anything you want, work in your office, or something like that, just please don't tell."

The nerve of this girl, to proposition me, in my own office. I smirk at her, and walk over and lock the door. "Are you sure that you are willing to do anything?" I ask her, wanting her permission before I make my move.

"Yes, sir," she says, looking at the floor.

I don't need any more permission than that, and I press her against the wall and kiss her. She immediately opens her mouth. I pick her up, and place her on my desk, knocking everything onto the floor. "Do you see what you do to me, all day in class?" I ask her, pressing my erection to her center. "You walk in, the vision of innocence, smelling like fucking peaches, and I can't control myself. Just looking at you makes me rock hard, and I don't know how much longer I will be able to control myself," I growl directly into her ear.

She whimpers out, "I'm sorry professor. I don't mean to tease you."

I rip her panties off and throw them on the floor in a heap of shredded lace. I begin to circle her clit with my thumb, and tease her entrance with my fingers. "Is this what you want, Sookie? I see the way you look at me in class. You have no shame when you think I don't see you."

"Oh, god, yeeees," she moans out, and I stick two fingers into her slick heat.

"God, you're so tight, Sookie. So tight for me," I growl as I continue to pump my fingers and circle her clit. "Cum for me, Sookie," I whisper in her ear. I begin to feel her walls flutter, and it's all I can do to not bite her then and there. When she climaxes, she leans her head against my shoulder and breathes heavily as I stroke her hair, and hold her.

She suddenly hops off the desk, and levels her gaze at me, giving me a smirk of her own, before heading for the door. "Thank you for the good time, professor," she says with a wink, and slips back out in to the club.

I sink into my desk, and stare at the wall for a second before what just happened finally registers. I think I just got played.


	8. Chapter 8

SPOV

As Amelia is finishing my makeup, I finally confess my overpowering crush on Professor Northman. I tell her about the study session, and the looks that I keep getting from him.

"Sookie, you should go for it! What the hell, right? What's the worst that could happen?" Amelia tells me, giving me her look.

"Well, Amelia, there are plenty of things that could go wrong; he could lose his job, he could get me expelled, hell, he could completely ruin my chances of ever getting anywhere in life. So, yes, I have a lot to lose," I tell her, rolling my eyes and sighing.

"Sookie, you have to take chances. You can't sit around the rest of your life just waiting for things to happen for you. Sometimes you have to take the bull by the horns, and just do something. Stop being a pussy," Amelia says, making me cringe.

"You know I don't like that word," I grumble as I finish getting dressed. I slip my dress on and look at myself, thinking that the dress may be a little too much. When Amelia sees me, she squeals, telling me I look hot.

"Sook, just wear the dress. Chances are you won't even see anyone you know. Grow a pair and wear it."

I put my black pumps on, and walk into the kitchen to eat a little something before we leave. As we walk out the door, I begin to second guess myself again, but what the hell. I'm in college now. It's time to grow up.

I walk out of Eric's office and run to the restroom—well as fast as I can in four inch heels—and lock myself in a stall. What did I just do? I just came on to my professor, who I didn't know was the owner of a nightclub, and he responded by fingering me on his desk. I don't know what came over me. It's like I can't control myself around him. Everything about him draws me in—he's handsome, he's sweet to me (in his own way), even his smell drives me crazy.

I slide down the side of the wall, with tears falling down my face. I don't know what to think anymore. Sometimes I wish that I was still in high school, and that I didn't have to deal with the adult things that I'm dealing with. I'm just glad that I have good friends that I can lean on when everything goes to shit around me.

After about 10 minutes, Amelia comes busting through the door, with a pissed off look on her face. As soon as she sees me, though, she drops to the ground.

"Sookie, honey, what happened?" she asks, holding my chin.

"I don't wanna talk about it, okay? Just let me have this secret," I tell her, not wanting to let her know of everything that just happened. She looks at me warily, and then just nods her head. I don't know how long we sit on that bathroom floor, her just holding me, when I realize that I am surrounded by voids—there are many minds around me right now, which I can't hear. Just like Eric's mind. I sit up as soon as I notice this, and cock my head to the side. When Amelia goes to ask me what's wrong, I put my hand up to silence her. It seems like the closer I listen, the more I notice the voids, and where they are in proximity to me.

"Amelia, I'm surrounded by minds that I can't read," I tell her, fascinated and terrified at the same time.

"What do you mean? They're just fuzzy?" she asks, intrigued.

"No, like there's just this black hole where there should be a mind, but there isn't. I can sense the presence, but no thoughts. Just darkness." It's strangely peaceful, and all I want to do is to find out who they are, and what they're doing to be so quiet. I don't know how I didn't notice them before, when I walked into the club.

As I walk out of the bathroom, and into the main area of the club, I feel almost suffocated by the minds that I can't hear. I walk towards the bar to order some water, and the next thing I know, everything goes black.

EPOV

"HELP!" I hear coming from the main area of the club. "Please, somebody help!" I race out of my office at vampire speed, and approach none other than Amelia Broadway, from my history class with Sookie. As soon as I reach her, though, I see my Sookie collapsed on the ground.

I look at Amelia and demand an explanation, "What. The. Fuck. Happened?" I growl, trying to contain my anger.

Amelia looks up at me, and jumps, obviously not expecting to see me. "Uh, Professor...well she was walking to the bar to get something to drink when she just passed out. I don't know what happened..." the poor girl looks like she's fixing to break down in tears.

"Miss Broadway, follow Pam into my office. I am going to carry her in and lay her down on the couch," I say as I motion to Pam. When Amelia follows Pam to the office, I scoop Sookie up carefully and walk back to my office. I set her on the couch, and we all wait for her to wake up. After about two minutes, Sookie finally starts to come to.

"Wh...what happened?" She asks, obviously confused.

"Sookie, you passed out in front of the bar. What have you had to drink tonight? Have you taken anything from anybody?" I ask her, wanting to make sure that she hasn't been drugged by someone in the club. When the air conditioner kicks on and blows her scent towards me, I know that isn't the case.

"No, I haven't even had anything here tonight," she says, shaking her head. I can tell she is trying to hide something from me.

"Sookie now is not the time to hide things from me," I tell her, trying to not worry her. Although, with the amount of supernaturals in the club, I need to make sure all my bases are covered.

"I...I'm a telepath," she says, keeping her eyes fixed on the floor.

"Can you read my mind?" I ask her, truly concerned for her safety now. If she can read vampire minds, she is in more danger than I can protect her from.

"No. You're mind is like a vacuum. I can sense that you are there, but I can't get anything from your thoughts."

I look at Pam, and she looks back at me, with a knowing glance. "Pam, why don't you take Amelia back out to the dance floor, she could use the distraction. Your friend is fine now," I tell them.

"Sookie, look in my eyes," I tell her, hoping to just glamour what just happened out of her, since she doesn't want to give the information to me. When she looks into my eyes, I try to push my influence onto her, but nothing happens. When I try to push harder, she just gives me a strange look.

"Um, Eric, what are you doing?" She asks, putting a hand to her forehead. "What are you, Eric? Why can't I hear your thoughts?" She is begging me to tell her, and I just can't stand to see her scared.

"Sookie, I am a vampire," I tell her, watching her closely, to gauge her reaction.

"The fuck?!"


	9. Chapter 9

SPOV

"The fuck?!" I ask him incredulously. He actually believes that he is a vampire. I start laughing, and keep laughing for a couple of minutes. I don't know if it is from all of the events from the evening or what, but I just can't seem to stop. When I finally calm down, Eric is looking at me with an amused expression on his face.

"Are you done, now?" he asks, sitting beside me on the couch. I sigh and look up at him, willing him to take it all back, and to make my life normal again. Too much has happened, and I can't handle any more. But then he does it—his fangs click down. He has honest to God fangs in his mouth. I recoil from him, and I feel terrible for the reaction, but I can't help it.

"Eric, why didn't you tell me? All this time, and you didn't tell me. How could you?" I ask, getting up from the couch. I'm not necessarily mad at him, but I feel betrayed. I gave myself up to him, and he had plenty of opportunities to tell me what was going on.

"Sookie, I couldn't tell you. It's not that easy. I wouldn't have told you tonight if I didn't feel like your life would be endangered if I hadn't told you. There's something about you, Sookie," he said, stepping towards me.

"Eric, please just stop. I can't do this. I'm sorry," I tell him, and rush out of his office to find Amelia, and go home. Eric lets me go, and I find Amelia on the dance floor. I grab her, and drag her out the door, not stopping until we are in the car, to tell her what's going on.

"Amelia, I'm sorry, but I just couldn't stay there any longer," I apologize to her.

"Sook, it's okay. You've had a rough night. We'll just go home, and you can get some rest," she says reassuringly.

"Thanks, Meels, for being so understanding," I tell her gratefully, leaning my head back on the head rest. I just want this night to end.

When we finally arrive back to the dorms, I go straight to my room, and I break down. It's the second time tonight that I've broken down, but I just can't help it. I cry for my lost innocence. I cry for myself, for learning these new things about myself. But I also cry for Eric Northman, because he didn't choose his life to be this way. He didn't choose to be a vampire. I cry because I judged him for something that he cannot control.

After I feel like I don't have any more tears to cry, I fall asleep.

The next morning, I feel like shit when I wake up. I slept restlessly, tossing and turning all night, and now I'm paying the price. Thankfully it's Sunday and we don't have classes again until tomorrow night. I guess that makes sense now, why the classes are held at night.

I pad into the kitchen to get some coffee, but notice that Amelia isn't up, and she hasn't made coffee like she normally does. That's strange. I decide that she'll show up eventually, and get to work making my own coffee and something for breakfast. I figure that I will probably spend the day in, getting what little bit of rest I can to make up for last night, when I hear a knock on the door.

Huffing, I get up to answer it, and am surprised by who I find on the other side.

"Sam? What are you doing here?" I ask him, clearly surprised by his sudden appearance.

"Well, Amelia told me that you didn't have a good night, so I brought over movies and stuff, and thought that we could have a movie day," he hopefully says. It's obvious that he's nervous about asking, and it's one of the sweetest things that anybody has ever done for me.

I motion for him to come inside, and he sets the movies in front of the large TV that Amelia brought with her from home.

"Wow, this thing is huge," Sam says, gesturing to the TV.

"Yeah, it is. Amelia brought it with her from home. You have no idea how long it took for us to figure out a way to fit that fucker in here," I say laughing, remembering that day. Amelia and I must have spent about half the day repositioning everything in our living area trying to get it in an angle that would actually work. When we got it where it is now, we just left it, not wanting to not be able to get it back in that place again.

Sam and I end up watching two movies before Amelia gets back from whatever it was she was doing. I'm kind of relieved that she is back, simply because I just don't have any chemistry with Sam. He is one of the nicest guys I've ever met, but I just don't feel it for him. I know he feels it for me, though, which I feel bad about, because I don't want to lead him on.

I look at the clock and realize that it is nearing 4:30 in the afternoon, and look pleadingly at Amelia. She winks at me, and makes an excuse about needing to study to get Sam to leave. I look at him apologetically, and walk him to the door. He pulls me in for a hug before he leaves, and it lasts just a little too long for my liking. I really need to set him straight about everything that is going on between us, but I just don't know how. In the words of the great Scarlet O'Hara, I'll just think about that tomorrow.

I lock up after him, and flop back on the couch. I look over at Amelia who is grinning at me like a maniac.

"What's so funny?" I demand, when she won't stop.

"Nothing, Sook, I just think it's funny that you're leading Sam on," she snickers.

"Amelia Broadway!" I exclaim, shocked. "I am in no way leading him on. I haven't done anything to get his hopes up."

"You keep telling yourself that, honey. Maybe that will make it true," she says, still snickering.

"Where were you today, by the way?" I ask her.

"I was with my father, if you must know," she says, looking properly admonished. "I'm sorry; I should have left a note or something. He just showed up out of the blue and said that he 'wanted to spend time with me,'" she says, using air quotes.

"Well, how'd that go for you?" I ask her, getting to snicker myself, now. I know how awkward it can be for Amelia around her father. She loves him in her own way, and he loves her in his own way, but Amelia changed her last name for a reason. She doesn't want to get anywhere in life just because of her father and his rich name.

"It went as expected," she says. "He attempted to buy my affection. I let him. I have a new iPad and you have a new Michael Kors purse, because I love you," she says grinning again.

"Amelia! You shouldn't have done that. I don't need it," I admonish her, but I can't help but feel excited. Living with Gran, my brother and I never had much of anything, and getting a designer purse was something I had to save up for, for months.

Amelia runs to her room with that evil grin again, and presents me with the most beautiful, white Michael Kors purse I have ever seen. It is all white leather, with gold accents, and I am immediately in love. I give her a huge hug, and take the purse to my room, when I hear a knock at the door.

Thinking that it's Sam, I let Amelia get it, when I hear his voice. Eric Northman's voice.

"Uh, Sookie, I think it's for you."


	10. Chapter 10

I can't believe that he would just show up at my door. I sigh, and plead with my eyes for Amelia to give us a little privacy. She says that she is going to go down to the cafeteria and get something to eat for dinner real quick. When she leaves, I wait for Mr. Northman to come in, when he doesn't I ask him why.

"I have to be invited in," he says, looking down.

"Oh, well, uh, Professor, please come in," I tell him, and he immediately walks into the room. I shut the door behind him and lock it. The last thing I need is for someone to stop by and see Professor Northman standing in the living room of my dorm.

"What do you need, Professor?" I ask him, sitting down on the couch.

"Please, call me Eric," he says, smirking at me.

"No, I think Professor will do just fine, thanks," I tell him. I cross my legs, and wait for him to get on with what he needs.

"Miss Stackhouse, I really am sorry about what I put you through last night. That was a bad way to tell you about what I am," he says, pleadingly.

"Professor, I don't blame you for what you are. I feel terrible about the way I acted last night. It's not your fault that you're a vampire," I tell him. "I am thinking about transferring out of your class though," I say quietly.

"Please, Sookie, don't do that. You are my best student, and it would be a great loss to me to lose you as a student. You'll also find that none of the other professor's are as versed in history as I am," he says.

I laugh, realizing that he's probably right. He probably did live through most of these events after all. "Fine, I'll stay in your class..." I tell him reluctantly.

"Thank you, Sookie."

"I think we need to stop whatever this is we started though," I say. "I'm only seventeen, and I don't want to get you in trouble."

"You won't get me in trouble. Vampires operate by a different set of rules than humans. But, if you insist that you do not want it, I will stop," he says looking at me, kind of sadly.

"I don't want you to stop," I say quietly. I really don't. I like the feeling that this powerful creature wants me, but it also frightens me. "I think maybe we should just slow down."

He grins at me, and moves closer to me on the couch, taking my hand. He brings it up to his mouth, and kisses the pulse point on my wrist, making me shiver. "Anything you want, Miss Stackhouse," he says.

"I think you should leave before I jump you," I tell him jokingly.

He laughs and stands up, offering me his hand. "That's probably a good idea," he says walking to the door. "If you need anything, don't hesitate to call."

When he leaves, I throw myself on the couch and just sit there grinning like an idiot. I really need to talk to Sam, and let him know that I don't have feelings for him. I definitely only want Professor Northman, and it's not fair to string him along for the ride.

Amelia makes her way back to the room a short time after the Professor leaves, carrying a cheeseburger for me, and a Coke. I dig into it as soon as she sets it in front of me, and I begin telling her what happened. By the time I finished with my story, she is wide eyed.

"Holy shit," she says, staring at me. "I heard rumors that vampires were real from my mentor, but she would never give me a straight answer. I guess now we have one."

"I guess so," I agree, getting up to throw the garbage from my dinner away. While I am doing the few dishes in the sink, there is another knock at the door. I reach out with my mind, and realize that it is just Sam. I groan, and throw the dish rag in the sink, to open the door.

"What do you need, Sam?" I ask, but he pushes past me in to the living room.

"Who was just here?" he asks, sniffing the air.

"What business is it of yours?" I ask him, taken aback.

"Well, I left my wallet here on accident, and I came back to get it, and all I can smell in this damn place is a vampire"— he stops, looking at me, blushing,

"Sam Merlotte, what do you mean you smelled a vampire?" I ask him slowly, not knowing if I can handle any more crazy today.

"Ah, shit," he says, running a hand through his shaggy hair. "Sit down. I've got somethin' to tell you."

I sit down on the couch and he sits on the coffee table in front of me.

"I'm a shifter. I can shift into any animal I want, as long as I have an animal to base it off of," he says, looking up at me expectantly.

"Sam, I don't know what I'm supposed to say. Last night I found out about vampires, and today I'm finding out about shifters. This is all too much," I tell him, not wanting to hurt his feelings.

"Sookie, there's something different about you, too. I can smell it," he says, moving closer to me.

"Look, Sam, I was going to talk to you tomorrow about this, but I guess I can now. I don't have feelings for you, and I realize that I am leading you on. I really don't want to do that to you, because you're such a nice guy..." I trail off, feeling incredibly guilty.

"It's the vampire," he says quietly. Suddenly, he stiffens, smelling the air again. "Jesus Christ, Sookie, Northman? That's who was here? You can't be serious. He's dangerous, Sook. You need to remember that. You don't need to get yourself mixed up with vamps."

"Well, Sam Merlotte, I can sure as hell make that decision for myself, thank you very much. He hasn't done anything to harm me, and I can assure you that everything going on is innocent. He helped me last night when I passed out at a club with Amelia, and he was just stopping by tonight to make sure I was okay," I rant, realizing that I am yelling by the end of my little speech. "I think you need to leave, Sam," I say, walking to the front door.

He walks up to me, and softens his gaze. "Just be careful cher. Okay?"

I smile at him, and pat his hand. "I'm always careful Sam. But go home, okay? I'll be fine." I shut and lock the door behind him, and find Amelia standing behind the door in her room, obviously eavesdropping.

"So, you're a witch, that can't cast some weird spell to just know what we were talking about." I tease her, laughing at her shocked expression.

"I could do that, I guess," she says thoughtfully, while grabbing a spell book off her bookshelf.

"So do you think I handled that okay with Sam?" I ask her, as she peruses her spell book.

She looks up at me, and snickers, giving me a pointed glance. "There's no way to easily tell a guy that they are firmly in the friend zone. I think you did as well as anyone could," she says before going back to her reading. Realizing that she will be distracted the rest of the night, I go to my own room, and move all of my stuff in to my brand new Michael Kors purse. As I do so, I can't help but think about the day's events. Once again, I am in deeper than I think I can handle.

Deciding I need a little piece of familiarity, I call Jason.

"Sook! I was just thinking about calling you," he says excitedly.

"Hey Jase," I say. "I was just home sick, and needed to talk to a familiar person. How're things back at home?"

"They're same old, same old. Pretty boring as usual," he says. "How're things in New Orleans?"

I hesitate, and he gets my meaning. "Sook, I know it's probably hard to be in a new place with new people. If you ever need me, just call."

"Well, do you want to come down and visit me tomorrow? I don't have classes until tomorrow night, and we could spend the day together?" I ask hopefully.

"I would love that, Sook! I'll be there tomorrow first thing. I love you, sis."


	11. Chapter 11

The next morning, I prepare for Jason's visit. I get up at about 6:00 and put coffee on, and start making breakfast. Jason said he was going to leave at about 3:00, so he should be here in an hour. When he said he was going to leave that early, I couldn't believe it—Jason's the kind of guy who doesn't get out of bed before 10:00 usually—it just goes to show how much loves me.

I make grits, scrambled eggs, biscuits, tomato gravy, and lots of bacon—a nice southern breakfast. Just as I'm finishing up, I get a phone call from Jase.

"Hey, sis, I uh, well I'm lost. I know I'm at the college, but I don't know where to go," he says pathetically.

I laugh at him, and direct him where to go. Ten minutes later, there's a knock at my door.

"Hey, Sook," Jason says as he walks in and hugs me. I hug him back, and lead him to our little kitchen area.

"I made breakfast and coffee. I figured you could use it," I tell him as I grab plates and mugs. I give him his plate to make his own food, and I make myself a smaller one. I'm trying to shed my freshman fifteen.

We sit and eat for awhile, just enjoying being in each others company. When we finish, I take our plates to the sink and wash them quickly. Amelia still hasn't woken up, and I don't expect her to anytime soon.

I go to my room and get dressed, leaving Jason in the living area with the remote to the TV. I dress comfortably in a pair of army green shorts, tan top, and brown sandals. I put my hair in a ponytail, put on light makeup, and call it good. I grab my Michael Kors bag, and head to the living room. Jason is right where I left him.

By the time we leave the house, it's almost 8:15. We go out to the front of the building and get a cab. We head to Bourbon Street, where we walk around and check out all the street vendors and little shops. I stop at a magic shop that Amelia was talking about and grab her a new spell book and a variety of herbs and ingredients. Jason gives me a weird look, but I just wave him off. We explore the little side streets and everything they have to offer, and we stop at all the little shops. We blow the next few hours exploring around, checking out the oldest church in Louisiana, Jackson Square, and Cafe du Mon. I always find it funny all of the palm readers and psychics that camp out in front of the church. By the time we're done, it's dinner time and we stop at a bar called Molly's. We go in and order typical bar food, and Jason orders a Hurricane.

"How're you likin' college?" Jason asks me, smiling.

"It's...it's going better than I thought it would. I'm making friends, I'm meeting interesting people, I'm getting a great education. There's nothing not to like. I just miss home sometimes, though," I tell him truthfully.

Jason smiles sympathetically and pats my hand across the table. "It'll get better. The longer you're away, the more you'll get used to it. Just don't ever forget that Bon Temps is your home."

"I won't forget that. We're all we have left, after all," I say back to him. We finish our meal in comfortable silence. Jason has ordered three more Hurricane's, and by the time we leave, he's smashed.

I hail our taxi, and get us loaded up, and direct the cab to the campus. I take Jason inside and lay him down on the couch, when I notice the time.

"Shit!" I yell, throwing a blanket over him. I grab my purse and sprint out of the dorm. I'm half an hour late to history class.

I show up to the building, wrench the door open, and run to the classroom door. To my horror, it's locked. I jiggle the handle a few more times, and finally give up, slumping down next to the door, waiting for class to get out. I decide to not just waste time and pull my textbook out of my bag, and open it to the chapter that we're covering in class.

After 45 minutes of waiting for class to end, my ass has gone numb and my back hurts like nobody's business. Luckily though, class has ended, and everyone is filing out. I wait for everyone to leave before making my way inside. The room is empty, save Professor Northman, who's sitting at his desk, pointedly ignoring me.

"Uh, Eric," I start, "I'm really sorry I missed class...I was out this afternoon, and I just completely forgot about class tonight..." I don't really have anything other than that. It's a lame excuse, and I know it.

"Miss Stackhouse, it's Professor Northman," he says, finally looking up at me, his blue eyes blazing. "And tardiness is not permitted in this class. You have to be punished for this. For the next two weeks, you will stay with me after class and help me grade papers. I think that's fair. I could have you removed from this class if I wanted to."

I nod silently, and lower my head. He's acting so different than he was last night. I guess he's just in professor mode.

"Miss Stackhouse, that time will start tonight. Sit down and get comfortable," he says, nodding toward a desk in the front row. I sit down, and he gets up from his desk. He stalks towards me, holding a handful of papers. "Now, Miss Stackhouse, I think this punishment is a little lacking, don't you?"

I can tell what he's doing now. He has a predatory look in his eyes, and they've darkened from their normal cerulean to almost black. I shiver involuntarily, and look down again.

"I think this is just fine, for now, professor."

He chuckles slightly. "Finish these papers for me. Then you can go."


End file.
